The Sword and Laser discussion

What do you say ? Which book and who suggested you ))

Rocketship Galileo by Robert Heinlein when I was 11 in 1974. It was recommended by the librarian in the "Book Bus" that came to our school. Before that I read a lot of Greek mythology, magic trick, science experiment and Hardy Boys books.

Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin, also at 11. Before that, I had been reading biographies since kids books had lost my interest. Asprin pulled me back in with novels and hooked me on Fantasy and Sci-Fi.

For me it was a short story in the back of my 2nd grade reader, so I was 7, I guess. Which makes it 1972.

The story was about two astronauts who were brothers. They were exploring an amazing new world, surrounded by wonders. The ground was so strange, like nothing they had ever seen, with scattered plants which were bizarre to their eyes. They hear an ominous growling from behind a nearby hill and they're a little afraid of what unknown terror might be approaching. Is it a monster? The source of the noise suddenly crests the hill - it's a vehicle! Full of aliens! They're hideous! They have too many eyes and a weird type of grass growing from their heads! Written on the side of their machine are the words "Dune Buggy." Such strange creatures, with only one head and two eyes each! So unlike normal people, who have two bald heads with a single eye in each.

That story blew my mind. It was my first twist ending, and one that made the world topsy-turvy, forcing me to rethink everything I had assumed. It did so many other things, too, such as make me reappraise the world around me and look at it with fresh eyes. Just because something is familiar doesn't mean it's not wondrous. It also introduced me to the tricks of storytelling, how an author can make you think one thing while actually saying something else. It also introduced me to the idea of Science Fiction as a genre.

It was a mind-altering experience. Looking back, I'm sure it was only three pages long, in that giant typeface they use for books intended for little kids, and I recall it was illustrated, which makes the achievement all the more remarkable in hindsight. That was a lot of stuff to pack into a few paragraphs.

hi there everyone )) wow you really stop here and write this amazing lines,words which is best memories and best part of your life i guess ))

It's shows that how great and best class of people you are ))

It's really inspiring to read your wow moments and thanks for sharing your best book with me,I will read it with joy and respect.

#StayAwesome #hvFun

Charlottes web when I was seven. :)

When I was twelve, the Chronicles of Pydrain got me interested in fantasy, and then the Original Shannara trilogy blew my mind and I consumed all the fantasy I could find, until I got bored around thirty and lost interest in reading. Then I read the Enders game series around 35 and sci-fi became my first love.

The complete volumes of Grimms Fairy Tales when I was about 10.

I don't think I can pick out one particular book - but I would like to mention Eric Frank Russel. He is largely forgotten nowadays (and I must admit, some of his work was very much 'of its time'), but he deserves to be better remembered!
In particular, his short story 'Hobbyist' was outstanding!

The first SF book I read was Panshin's Rite of Passage. Little did I know at the time that I was essentially reading a Heinlein juvenile. Still love Rite of Passage but read a whole lot more Heinlein than Panshin as time went on.

John (Taloni) wrote: "The first SF book I read was Panshin's Rite of Passage. ..."
Panshin's Rite! I had forgotten that one! Not the most influential, but certaily a great read in its day.
Not sure how it would stand up now, roughly fifty years later . . .

When I was 11 my much older brother handed me a beaten up copy of Tolkien's "Fellowship of the Ring" and I was hooked. In retrospect, it was a great age to read it. It was quite a bit challenging at times, but my imagination was spinning at extreme speed. I remember that I never noticed when people called me ("Dinner!!!!" etc etc) as I was completely transported and immersed in the realm of Middle Earth. I have been hooked by SFF ever since. Thank you Tolkien!

I never gave fantasy a chance until I read Dragonsdawn. I was able to pick that book up since it was more science fiction than the rest of the Dragonriders of Pern since it dealt with how the settlers settled on Pern in the first place. I was hooked by the world and went on to read a lot more of Anne McCaffrey's work and discovered I really enjoyed fantasy as well.

My great aunt worked for B Dalton and would bring home all the damaged books for me.. I had a whole shelf of books. The one that stands out from her was Season of Ponies. I was probably 9.

The first book I read was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and then I remember Childhood's End really hooking me into scifi.

Michele, did you see the tv miniseries of Childhood's End? My reaction to it in spoilers below...

(view spoiler)[Blech! Complete betrayal of the storyline. Even the devils were done poorly. (hide spoiler)]

My first was probably The White Mountains by John Christopher. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander would also have factored in there somewhere. And I distinctly remember one time, the summer after 2nd grade, spending an entire afternoon reading Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein pretty much in one sitting.

It was either one of the Pern books or A Wrinkle in Time. I remember devouring both, and the rest of the Time series. I really want tore-read those but am afraid that I'll be disenchanted, that it won't be as good as I remember.

terpkristin wrote: "but am afraid that I'll be disenchanted, that it won't be as good as I remember...."
Almost certainly. Tastes change, and the books that appealed 25-30 years ago (or even longer if you are like me, getting on a bit!). Generally speaking, such books will still seem 'OK', but 'shallow'. Nowadays, people usually want more meat!
Sadly, current trends in Fantasy tend to provide that meat rather literally, as lots of fresh blood and gore, all over the page. I prefer slightly more intellectual meat - subtlety, puzzles, mental challenges - but still written for a YA-type audience, i.e. with no excess of sex and/or violence. There isn't much of that around today, and a lot of what there is, I would classify as Juvenile rather than YA . . . .

A book is different each time we read it. Not because the book has changed, but because we have.

Trike wrote: "A book is different each time we read it. Not because the book has changed, but because we have."
Trike, I don't often agree with you - but this time you are spot on!

We are different person every second goes by,i mean just look at your previous comments,that person is not you who reading this words right now )))

Everyone ))Thank you soooooo much for your best comments ))I am really amazed by your beautiful memories,so sweet of you that you introduced your best friends in here ,which we call it "books" ))

You guys are awesome ) #hvFUN

John (Taloni) wrote: "Michele, did you see the tv miniseries of Childhood's End? My reaction to it in spoilers below...

[spoilers removed]"

Yes, I thought it was just OK until the end. I knew that that wasn't how it ended even though I read it 35 years ago or something. I totally empathize with your reaction. It could have been GREAT.

When I was around 6 I discovered The Hardy Boys and I was hooked. I had always liked books, but that was the catalyst for getting me on the road to being such a regular reader. It was grade 5 when I first read the Lord of the Rings though that drove my interest in fantasy novels, of which I have the biggest interest when reading for purely enjoyment, not looking to learn anything.

Space Cadet by Robert Heinlein when I was 7. I dreamed of going to that school way more often than Roke.
I reread it recently when I gave it to my son to read and I still loved it, flaws and all. I think a book you loved enough and reread a lot as a child never gets a full visit from the suck fairy.

It was the Talisman by Stephen King and my mother suggested it. I lived in a small town and would have given anything to hit the open road on my own and see where it lead me!!! Walking from town to town doing odd jobs and just seeing the world. I discovered I could do just that with books. Ever since I can not stop reading!

In general, The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting and all the dorm school books by Enid Blyton. For fantasy, either Harry Potter and Narnia, forgot which one I read first. For scifi, definitely Crichton's books especially my first one, Congo.

Michele wrote: "The first book I read was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and then I remember Childhood's End really hooking me into scifi."

FYI, the entire Baum written series is available free on Amazon.

Can't say what the first was, but The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe was one of the first for me. Someone mentioned the Hardy Boys, and I too got hooked on them back in the day.

I'm sure there were other fantasy or scifi books that I read at an earlier age but the first one I remember loving and not being able to put down was the Hobbit. I had to be around 9 or 10 and I remember sitting in my parents' old rocking chair and bawling my eyes out at the end.

J.J. wrote: "FYI, the entire Baum written series is available free on Amazon."

Yes....Oz, most of Barsoom, almost all of Tarzan plus Wells and Verne can be found free on gutenberg.org.

Tough to say, but quite frankly the earliest reading material that inspired me to read more about fantasy was comic books, particularly the Star Wars series produced by Marvel in the 70s and 80s. That was probably my first exposure since my dad collected the whole series for my older sister and myself.

As for first chapter books in a fantasy or sci-fi genre, I was probably getting into that by 3rd or 4th grade...so you're talking 1982 to 1984.

So, Tom Swift, David Eddings Belgariad and Mallorean in the later eighties as the first fantasy series I ever loved, devoured, and reread several times. I also remember loving Robert Silverberg's Across A Billion Years. Once I started playing D&D (basic red set box in '85), I found the related forgotten realm novels (the Moonshae series by Douglas Niles was the first I read) and Dragonlance and I was hooked on fantasy from there.

I also read some of the sci-fi classics when I was kid by H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, etc. I Loved Conneticutt Yankee in King Arthur's Court which I suppose is fantasy. Also fell in love with Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide series in 85/86 and the Phantom Tollbooth around then as well.

I remember reading The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the first novel that I had read for fun. Shortly after that I joined the Science Fiction Book Club. I bought many books from the club.